As 196 signatory nations of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) meet this week in Cancun, Mexico, to discuss their progress towards averting the current biodiversity crisis, researchers from a range of universities ...

Researchers have identified a bizarre, parasitic wasp without wings preserved in 100-million-year-old amber, which seems to borrow parts of its anatomy from a range of other insects but actually belongs to no other family ...

Pollinators provide irreplaceable ecosystem services. One out of every three bites of food are attributable to pollination. Pollinators bring us many of our favorite fruits and vegetables (see this list of crops that use ...

Unfortunately, loss of plant and animal habitat leads to local species extinctions and a loss of diversity from ecosystems. Fortunately, not all of the extinctions occur at once. Conservation actions may still be able to ...

The Bornean orangutan is on the verge of extinction, a top conservationist body said Friday, also warning that the world's biggest fish, the whale shark, and a hammerhead shark species were endangered.

Amphibians that tolerate higher temperatures are likely to fare better in a world affected by climate change, disease and habitat loss, according to two recent studies from the University of California, Davis.

Habitat destruction

Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, plants and animals which previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Agriculture is the principal cause of habitat destruction. Other important causes of habitat destruction include mining, logging, trawling and urban sprawl. Habitat destruction is currently ranked as the most important cause of species extinction worldwide. It is a process of environmental change important in evolution and conservation biology. Additional causes include habitat fragmentation, geological processes, climate change, invasive species, ecosystem nutrient change and human activities mentioned below.

The terms "loss of habitat" and there is also a "habitat reduction" are also used in a wider sense including loss of habitat from other factors, such as water and noise pollution.